Bruce Campbell Discusses the Real Problem With Superhero Movies

In the years since becoming a horror icon in The Evil Dead, Bruce Campbell has become a larger-than-life personality whose charisma and humor rivals that of any on-screen character. His talents make him a go-to choice when fans envision characters coming to life for superhero movies, though he has already played three different characters in Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man trilogy. Fans hoping to see Campbell return to the world of superheroes will have to hope Raimi returns to the comic book world, with Campbell confirming that collaborative process was the only reason he volunteered his services.

“That’s Sam Raimi all the way,” Campbell shared with ComicBook.com about what drew him to those films. “Big blockbuster movies, whenever I see an actor get cast in one of those, I wince, because I go, ‘Oh, that poor son of a bitch is going to be in that suit for 10 years.’ If shooting schedule’s seven months of shooting, you get your one month in the Bahamas, and then you’re promoting for three months, then you go right back to the next sequel, back in that same f-cking suit.’”

Campbell’s work in the Evil Dead films required him to often react to imaginary threats that would then be created with special effects, though the films also utilized practical special effects to convey their horrors. Current superhero films, on the other hand, are mostly created with CGI, requiring a completely different approach to acting.

“You’re looking at tennis balls on sticks. So, that process is actually not for me, even though Ash vs. Evil Dead was all that,” the actor admitted. “It was all marks on walls, tennis balls on sticks, the monster’s going to be here, noise over here, you know, that sort of stuff, it’s a different type of acting, and modern day actors are learning new technical skills that the old-timey actors didn’t have to learn. Acting with nothing. That’s what they’re doing now. Castle’s not even there. ‘Oh, we’re going to put a great castle behind you. It’s not there now, but it’s going to be amazing.’”

Another deterrent for Campbell entering the superhero world is that the heroes aren’t as complex as he would like. While the heroes do have flaws, they are still inherently driven to do good in the world.

“My only beef with superheroes is that they’re not flawed enough,” Campbell detailed. “Oh, Superman’s got Kryptonite. Well, what the hell’s Kryptonite? I don’t know what that means. Give me Ash, the guy could be, he’s a gas station attendant, you know? The guy’s Mr. Nobody.”

While we won’t keep our eyes out for Campbell entering the Marvel or DC universe anytime soon, fans can check out the final season of Ash vs. Evil Dead on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital on August 21st.

Would you still like to see Campbell appear in a comic book movie? Let us know in the comments below!